atlanta motor speedway Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Coming into Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chase Briscoe hadn’t tested nor even fired the engine on the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Briscoe indicated his goal was to finish the race and learn the most he could by completing all the laps. Mission accomplished, as he finished 15th in his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut with a clean race car. It was a solid debut for the 23-year-old driver with less than 50 races of experience on pavement and the next step in a careerRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer The last time the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited Atlanta Motor Speedway, a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck piloted by Christopher Bell dominated the weekend, winning the pole, both stages and the race. The boss of KMB looks to repeat the feat, as Kyle Busch took the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s Active Pest Control 200. Busch put down a lap at 179.743 mph (30.844) in the No. 4 Toyota to earn the 19th pole of his Truck Series career. It’s the second pole of theRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer In a final round of qualifying that featured a great mix of veteran and youth, Christopher Bell turned a lap at 181.76 mph (30.60 seconds) to take the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bell, in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, edged out Joey Logano to earn his second series pole in just his 10th start. “This one’s probably a little bit more enjoyable,” Bell said with a large grin when asked if this poleRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s been a rough afternoon for Martin Truex, Jr. and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team, the defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions, as pre-qualifying inspection at Atlanta Motor Speedway went from bad to worse for the Denver, Colorado based team. Failing inspection after three separate trips through NASCAR’s new Optical Scanning Station, the team was penalized with the loss of car chief Blake Harris for the weekend, as well as being docked 30 minutes of practice time. Fearing a fourth failure andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Ryan Newman was within seconds of breaking a pole drought that dates to 2013 – until Kyle Busch made his final-round qualifying run at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Covering the 1.54-mile distance in 30.024 seconds (184.652 mph) in the money round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session, Busch edged Newman by .038 seconds to win his first pole of the young Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, his first at Atlanta and the 28th of his career. Starting up front is certainly a benefitRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After last Sunday’s barn burner of a finish in the Daytona 500, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads to Georgia for this weekend’s running of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With a track surface that is old and worn, having not been repaved since its reconfiguration in 1997, Atlanta always gets rave reviews from drivers who enjoy slipping and sliding around on the worn out asphalt. The track has been unpredictable when it comes to whichRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The start of the 2001 season started off with a dark cloud hanging over the sport following the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, but as the series rolled into Atlanta, little did they know that the healing would start just 500 miles later. Kevin Harvick, who had taken over the seat left vacant by Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing following his passing, was making his third start of his Cup Series career in the renumbered white No. 29 car and it did notRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ben Rhodes enjoyed a stout fourth-place finish in last Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, but it has since been overshadowed by an L1 penalty handed out by NASCAR Wednesday. The outcomes of the penalty have also led to the suspension crew chief Eddie Troconis for Saturday’s Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Additionally, Troconis was fined $5,000 after the rear of Rhodes’ No. 41 Ford F-150 was too low during post-race inspection. ThorSport Racing will also be penalized 10Read More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer After Saturday night’s chaotic season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, it will be two months before we see the ARCA Racing Series fire the engines for the second race of the 2018 season at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. It’s completely understandable why the series wants to open the schedule on the high-banks of storied Daytona. Not only does it provide valuable experience for a series that helps develop young drivers looking to break into the top three series of NASCAR, it provides valuable exposure for theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As first reported on Twitter by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Atlanta Motor Speedway will not repave their 1.5 mile track for next year’s race, electing instead to postpone their plans for at least a year. The track, which has not been repaved since it was reconfigured in 1997, has shown increasing signs of wear over the years and as a result has been revered by drivers for its challenging race conditions, including heavy tire fall-off and cars slipping and sliding around on the worn-out surface. EvenRead More